Forty Niners in a world of hurt

I t was a dark and stormy night. Was it ever. In just one evening, over four quarters of ugly football, the whole season changed for the 49ers.

We won't know completely how much it changed for another week or so, when we see exactly how the playoff brackets are set. But the 42-13 loss to the Seahawks here Sunday evening puts the 49ers in a whole different geographic location moving ahead.

Go to a football map. Find the continent of hurt. That's where they are now situated. Literally and figuratively.

"I don't think there's anything that we can feel good about right now," said 49er coach Jim Harbaugh after the final play and an incident-free handshake with coaching nemesis Pete Carroll of Seattle. "We didn't do good enough, didn't coach well enough, didn't play well enough ... "

We get the point. If Sunday was a statement game, here was the statement: This may not be such a holly jolly romp into the Super Bowl for the 49ers after all. In fact, it almost surely won't be.

The certified butt-kicking by Seattle was also why, after that impressive victory over New England a week ago, some of us were cautioning everyone not to break out in happy hives just yet. Sunday's game at CenturyLink Field always loomed as the larger one in terms of playoff ramifications.

And as the evening progressed, those ramifications kept ramifying into worse and worse scenarios.

It wasn't just that the loss dropped the 49ers from the second seed in the NFC down to the third seed — which, if form holds, would eliminate a bye week for them and force a first-round rematch against the Seahawks at Candlestick Park.

No, it was far more than that.

It was the way that the embarrassment unfolded, with the Seahawks outplaying the 49ers in all 73 phases of the game, or however many phases there are.

And most significantly, it was the way that so many key 49er players kept falling by the wayside with injuries, casting doubt on their availability for next week's regular season finale at The Stick against Arizona. The 49ers must now win that one to clinch the NFC West title.

Let's go down the list of the wounded and limping:

Out for the entire game Sunday game was Justin Smith, the concrete foundation of the defensive line. He was made inactive before kickoff because of the unspecified arm injury he sustained against the Patriots — and at least one television network report has Smith missing next week's start, as well. That is not pleasant news. On the game's second play, Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch ran right through the gap usually occupied by Smith for a 24-yard touchdown. It got no better from there.

Wide receiver Mario Manningham, returning from two weeks on the inactive list with an injured shoulder, was plainly not 100 percent in terms of making aggressive moves toward balls thrown his way — and became even less so in the third quarter when his knee was wrenched in grisly fashion. He was helped from the field and seems doubtful for next week.

Vernon Davis, the 49er tight end who is often a critical part of game plans, sustained a concussion in the second quarter. It happened on a crushing hit by Seattle defender Kam Chancellor, who was penalized on the play but managed to put Davis out for the rest of the night. Davis told Harbaugh it was only a "mild concussion." But that's no guarantee that the tight end will be back in action next weekend.

Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback in which coach Jim Harbaugh has invested so much trust since promoting him ahead of Alex Smith, had his worst outing as a starter. Kaepernick couldn't get anything going on offense early and threw a bad interception late. Only a troublemaker would point out that Alex Smith has won his last four starts against Seattle and that the 49ers had averaged 26 points in those four games.

The NFL is a wicked business. It requires one week of great physical triumph to be followed by another, and another, and another. One week does not carry over to the other. Maybe the 49ers expected that would happen after their impressive effort at New England. Doesn't work that way.

"No excuses," said safety Dashon Goldson. "They prepared well for us tonight and it showed."

Indeed, the 49er defensive lapses were even more disturbing than the offensive inefficiency. Not until 11:52 remained in the third quarter did the citizens of this fine yet eternally drippy metropolis finally witness a Seahawks punt.

The NFL is so unpredictable, it could all flip next week. But probably not. The Seahawks finish here at CenturyLink Field against the St. Louis Rams and while that's no certain victory, you have to figure Seattle will take care of that business — and potentially set up a first-round playoff game with the 49ers one week later.